Wednesday, November 26, 2008

A good laugh...

Well, where is the camera when someone could be capturing the $10,000 prize winning video. Yes, that is how I would describe the following incident. Just try to picture it all in the video of your mind!

The past five days I have been in the Northeastern corner of Arkansas visiting Churches and talking with Pastors and Missions Pastors to introduce them to Pure Joy. Wendy, our PR person for Pure Joy, had set up the appointments over a five day span. This resulted in me staying with Wendy, Jeff and the kids during that time, which is always a joy to my heart. If you remember several months ago I blogged about their new miniature Dotson or daschund or weenie dog puppy or whatever you call them. In fact we adopted Hershey as our Pure Joy missionary dog and mascot. At that time Wendy informed me that they would be taking Hershey to obedience training school in the next week or two. Mostly because she obviously did not have a clue what her name was because once she went to do her business she didn’t return when summoned. But, hey she was a new puppy and untrained!

Guess What! She is not new anymore but she is still untrained! Picture this… I pull into the Stott’s driveway, there that precious little thing is dancing around on the end of her leash, in mime shouting…ME! ME! ME! So what’s a person to do but pick that precious little thing up and tell her how awful it is for her to be on that leash and not to worry Aunt Vickie is here to let her run free and have fun! Run Free are the two operative words here! That’s right; Ms. where did you get your brains, let Hershey down on the ground without her leash on! Remember the Dick, Jane, and Spot 1st and 2nd grade readers. Well, can we say, See Hershey Run. See Vickie Run. See Hershey Run, Run, Run. See Vickie Run, Run, Run. See Vickie give Hershey a middle name. Yes, a middle name is important for emphasis at times such as these. It sounds much more authoritative to say Hershey Marie Stotts you come here!!!! Than to say here Hershey, here Hershey, come herrrrrr. Of, course the middle name was birthed only after I’d done 10 laps around the neighborhood, in and out of the neighbor’s garages, and talked to her as if she was really listening to a word I might be saying. The thing that made it only that much more of a good laugh was when Wendy stuck her head out of their garage and said, "Oh, you let her off her leash, we haven’t been able to go to dog training yet." Immediately, these words ran through my mind as I chased Hershey Marie Stotts into yet another neighbor’s garage, Really, ya think!!

All kidding aside we accomplished a lot regarding the ministry this past week. We visited with a couple of churches in Wynn, AR and a couple of churches in Forest City, AR. It was really neat to be able to visit with Pastors and lay people that have hearts for Missions. We made several good contacts and are talking to one of the churches about being a partner for our Poland trip in the spring. We also set up our Pure Joy booth at Central Baptist's “The Call” missions emphasis Sunday. The entire 5 days came to an end with several of the team members that went to Venezuela with Pure Joy being able to share at a Women on Missions (WOM) meeting Monday evening. We worshiped Him together, laughed together, gave testimony of His work in our lives through the trip and had a sweet time of fellowship.

As we come to this day before Thanksgiving we at Pure Joy want to tell you how thankful we are for your prayers and support of this ministry. We are totally dependant upon Him in you to come alongside us in all the possible ways to be a part of ministering to our missionary women overseas.

His,
vickie

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Sorry, I've been on the road...

I've been on the road and I am playing catch up in the office today but I will write a blog to go out tomorrow morning to share what God is up to in the ministry!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Love...

This past weekend our church sponsored a ‘More Than Married’ marriage workshop. It was exciting to see couples young to old come in the doors Friday night to begin the journey of the weekend. By Saturday afternoon I believe the following quote became a truth to many of the couples: “It is true that love is blind but marriage is definitely an eye-opener.” Our presenters, Charles and Darleen Queener out of North Carolina, were absolutely wonderful folks and gave the couples much needed insight into themselves and their marriage partner.

I personally, was very excited to see so many couples willing to invest in their marriages and their children’s lives. It has been said, many a time and many different ways, “the best gift a mom or dad can give a child is to love each other.” Our children in this world today need role models of people that love and respect one another and that are willing to put others first. If you would like to have something like this in your community or church please visit the following web site www.greatcommandment.net for more information.

Did I tell you that it is a lot easier to be a part of a marriage conference when you are single than when you are married! Ha ha! Of course as I shared with the couples…My maker is my Husband (Isaiah 54:5) It is ok for HIM to think HE’S perfect!

Tomorrow we (Wendy Stotts and I) begin a two day ‘church tour’ as Wendy likes to call it. Please be in prayer for us as we share with Missions Pastors and others about partnering with Pure Joy. Pray: (1) God will give the ministry favor, (2) God will allow Wendy and I to be a blessing to those we have the opportunity to meet with the next two days, and (3) The most important thing….that HIS Will Be Done.

And finally, we will be mailing the fall Pure Joy newsletter out in the next couple of weeks. If you are not on our mailing list and would like to be visit our web site www.purejoyinternational.org and sign up as a friend – be sure to fill in your regular mailing address to receive a snail mail copy of our newsletters – they are great tools to use in sharing the ministry of Pure Joy with your family and friends.

Blessings over you,
His,
vickie

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Stay Tuned!

I know some of you are looking for this week's blog - be paitent, I had a very busy Monday but will get it posted later today or early on Wednesday.

His,
vickie

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Dread!

That is the best word to define what was going on in my mind as I headed across I-40 going towards Oklahoma Sunday afternoon. Why ‘dread’? Because I was headed to visit someone we all have such an excitement to visit, the dentist! Now you may be wondering, as have several of my friends, why I drove to an entirely different state to see the dentist when there are many good dentists within miles of me. Well, that isn’t a hard thing to answer for me. Dentist, Hairdresser, Gynecologist all are very significant relationships in the life of a woman! We will drive miles and hours to continue those relationships with someone we trust. And truthfully, how many of us haven’t felt like we were committing an act of betrayal if we allowed ourselves to be convinced by a friend to try a new hairdresser. And a dentist well, if you ever find one you have confidence in….that relationship outlasts most marriages today. Anyway, my dentist and his wife are absolutely incredible! They both love and serve the LORD. They have hearts of gold and love people. Last night when I arrived in Muskogee, Oklahoma I actually stayed with my dentist and his wife awaiting that dreaded appointment this morning. But, they took such good care of me in preparation. Rebecca served up a wonderful dinner and David made a batch of chocolate chip cookies from scratch that were to die for. Dentist – Sweets, Sweets – Dentist, hmmmmm. Anyway, I had a great evening with some of Gods saints.

This morning that bliss ended with the first shot! Don’t you hate the shots! Anyway, being the most excellent dentist that he is, David (Dr. Reifsteck) took care of getting me fixed up and back on the road to Arkansas before noon. As I write this blog tonight I am sitting on the couch with one black and blue fat upper lip! Several stitches in the gums and a tad bit of discomfort. But, the good part is because of the dental surgery today by Wednesday I should be well on my way to healing with that tooth. Kind of like how God has to go in and do a little surgery on our hearts at times. Our heart may be a little bruised for a time but at least it is on its way to healing instead of becoming worse.

On Tuesday our Ministry Staff meets all day to pray, listen, and walk out God’s plans for the ministry. Please remember to pray for us. There are many ministries throughout this world that God uses to minister to our missionaries on the field. We just want to be obedient to the part He has called us to.

Don’t forget to be praying for Poland and the missionaries that will be attending that retreat in April/May 2009. Also, continue to pray for the unspoken area that I mentioned last week in my blog.

And as a last little bit of closing humor………for a month I have been putting off having my drivers’ license renewed just out of shear procrastination. Guess what tomorrow is, my birthday, 11-11. Guess what HAS TO BE DONE TOMORROW! Remember who has a fat lip! Can we say….Cheese!

Monday, November 3, 2008

From the Mouth of Babes...

If you keep up with our blog you have probably heard me talk about the 4th-6th grade Sunday School class I help with or have seen them on a blog. There is soooooooo never a dull moment with the kids. Yesterday, I was teaching them about prayer. We were in Matthew 6: 1-13 and I was helping them to break down the verses. In verse 2 when we came to the word ‘hypocrites’ I stopped and asked the class, “Can anyone tell me the definition of the word ‘hypocrite’?” Immediately a hand shot up. Yes, I said. The student stated, “Someone who tells you not to do something and then they do it themselves.” Very good, I responded. Can anyone else give a definition of the word ‘hypocrite’? Immediately, another hand went up. Yes, I said. The student responded, “A democrat.” Now I have to tell you, that was funny I don’t care who you are! I laughed so hard I could hardly regroup.

Of course the kids had NO IDEA why the other teacher and I found such laughter in that moment! Moms and Dads I want to share something with you. Your kids hear you. They watch, listen, and learn from you whether you take responsibility for that or not. When I shared with the parents what had gone on in class they got a good laugh and the realization that ‘little pictures have big ears’. Moms and dads what are you teaching those precious ones God has given you watch-care over? Be still and listen to them some time and find your answer.

In regard to Pure Joy news we are officially full regarding our registrations for the Poland retreat. We actually started a waiting list last week and encourage those interested to go ahead and sign up on the waiting list. Most retreats we end up with people that have come back to the states for some reason or another and we are able to move women off the waiting list to the actually retreat. Our theme for Poland is, “Trust His Word”. The verse is Psalms 119: 11. Your Word have I hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”

I ask all of you to start praying for the Poland retreat and the sponsoring churches. Right now we have one sponsoring church. We need 3 more. If your church is interested please contact us and I will be glad to contact you and spend time with you.

Also, wanted to encourage you to be praying for us as we have another trip that we are working out details on. It is being held in an undisclosed area. Your prayers and support are important to us regarding this trip. We have a church that is taking donations towards this trip as a missions project for their women’s ministry in Albuquerque. We are so excited about that because we will not have specific sponsoring churches for this retreat. Therefore we are praying for and counting on donations from you as you feel led. The team will be made up of a very small group of women that have experience traveling with the ministry. I will have Patty put together a estimated cost of the retreat and post it after I have met with our ministry staff next week.

Praying for all of you that you are allowing God to stretch you and be your El Shaddai.

His,
vickie